Without entering the complicated world of global warming and planetary catastrophe- let’s just have a look at carbon emissions and how you can still have them and feel green too. To be clear, I am speaking only for the US because I don’t know if anyone else in the world has a similar buy out. Having said this – it is not hard to understand why Americans talk the green but drive the car. People were green in the 70’s and got laughed at so often they gave up. It was viewed as some lunatic fringe behavior that was a holdover from the hippies. Plus the fact there was no tangible return on the effort. The heart of the matter: return on the effort. We like to be paid for everything. No good deed should go unpaid in this country. Including litigation if you happen to do one out of kindness and get caught. But we have sunk recently to a new low with the advent of Terrapass. According to the NYTimes “”…companies like Terrapass allow consumers to invest in projects like renewable energy and reforestation in an effort to remove greenhouse gas from the atmosphere equal to that produced by their cars, airplane trips and home energy use”. So this is really having your “fill in the blank” amount of cake and eating it too. No restrictions apply. Not to mention having had ample time and warning for the upcoming climate change and all it brings with it; face it, using the planet like a styrofoam cup is not new. Now we have guilt relief and it’s cheap too. I give up. Where did it say it should or would be easy to try to fix the environmental problems we face. Why should it be easy? Shouldn’t all of us have to do a lot more to try to save the only place we have in the entire universe to live? As it says in the Times “give us your money and we’ll deal with the problem”. And of course you get a snappy bumper sticker to let others know just how lazy and willing to pass the buck you are. Stop. We need hands on efforts to face this dilemma – not pay-offs to the private sector to assuage our guilt while we toddle around town in our Hummer, SUV or other gas guzzler. I think what we need are rules – not guidelines, laws, not suggestions and participation, not bribery to bring this country into being a more aware and involved partner in fixing our global health. I promise you, that should the moment come when it gets too hot to handle and we start to be a serious part of it , global warming will NOT exclude the US and its pay as you go citizens. No matter what anyone thinks. We sould have signed Kyoto.